Letter from + Europe | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/series/letter-from+europe-news
Indexen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2017Tue, 26 Sep 2017 21:53:20 GMT2017-09-26T21:53:20Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2017The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
Letter from Switzerland: mountain rhythmshttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/25/letter-from-switzerland-emily-haslimeier
The sight of an automatic rifle jars with the peaceful scenery surrounding the village of Heitenried in the Swiss Pre-Alps<p>It’s 7.30am. I have just returned from the Schule Weg or School Way, where my daughter meets her kindergarten friends. They are on their way to a beautiful 13th-century castle that dominates our village, and has been used as a school house since 1880. I linger until I see them safely reach the school steps. After growing up in Melbourne and then living in London for nearly 12&nbsp;years, I am still filled with a sense of paranoia that seems out of place here.</p><p>Today the children are excited as some frisky young cows have escaped, and are being chased off the football field by our neighbours waving long sticks and yelling, “<em>Komme za za za</em>, <em>komme za</em>”. The cows, like many of our neighbours, have recently returned from the Alps. They have been grazing there all summer; they are in high spirits and seem to think this is a game.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/25/letter-from-switzerland-emily-haslimeier">Continue reading...</a>SwitzerlandEuropeWorld newsTue, 25 Nov 2014 14:11:33 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/25/letter-from-switzerland-emily-haslimeierPhotograph: Guenter Fischer/Getty/Imagebroker RFHikers trek in front of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. Photograph: Guenter Fischer/Getty/Imagebroker RFPhotograph: Guenter Fischer/Getty/Imagebroker RFHikers trek in front of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. Photograph: Guenter Fischer/Getty/Imagebroker RFEmily Haslimeier2014-11-25T14:11:33ZLetter from Italy: a green oasishttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/21/letter-from-italy-sicily-catania
A plant-loving shopkeeper in Sicily’s Mascalucia keeps alive half a century of tradition<p>Donna Agata says: “Buona sera! What a pleasure to see you again!” as she emerges from behind her wooden counter. Her shop, nestled next to the imposing Chiesa Madre on the main square of this small Sicilian town, is hidden behind a screen of green climbers and creepers. A shelf with two crates of tomatoes (one for making sauce, the other for salads) is flanked by a cornucopia of terracotta pots.</p><p>“If I decided to remove my plants”, she says, “Via Etnea would be as bare as a desert. They don’t belong to the mayor, they are mine!” A keen gardener, Donna Agata has made the traffic-laden main road into a mini-oasis. The shop is part of her house and the large back garden is full of her favourite plants. “I’ve been in this shop for 47 years,” she tells me. “Mine is the last little shop in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mascalucia" title="">Mascalucia</a>. The others have all disappeared.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/21/letter-from-italy-sicily-catania">Continue reading...</a>ItalyEuropeTue, 21 Oct 2014 12:59:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/21/letter-from-italy-sicily-cataniaPhotograph: /AlamyView of Mount Etna from Catania, Sicily. Photograph: AlamyPhotograph: /AlamyView of Mount Etna from Catania, Sicily. Photograph: AlamyCleo Cantone2014-10-21T12:59:01ZLetter from Spain: warm farewellhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/29/letter-from-spain-death-burial-funeral-tradition
A funeral held so soon after a death can seem impersonal, but in practice the rapid arrangements bring people back together<p>The message comes on a Sunday evening: "My father has just passed away. Madrid Funeral Home from 10am tomorrow and burial in the <a href="http://www.significantcemeteries.org/2013/12/our-lady-of-almudena-cemetery-madrid.html" title="">Almudena cemetery</a> at 5pm". Death is dealt with quickly in Spain and if you want to pay your respects you have to move fast. Funerals and burials usually take place within 48 hours of the death. This tradition may have something to do with the heat in many parts of the country, which in the past made a rapid burial advisable.</p><p>To an observer from the cold Protestant north, the way things are done here may seem too informal, too impersonal or even a bit disrespectful, but in practice this is not the case. One of the great strengths of the Spanish is their open expression of emotion.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/29/letter-from-spain-death-burial-funeral-tradition">Continue reading...</a>SpainEuropeWorld newsTue, 29 Apr 2014 12:59:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/29/letter-from-spain-death-burial-funeral-traditionPhotograph: DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFPA man walks through Almudena Cemetery, Madrid, Spain. Photograph: Dominique Faget/GettyPhotograph: DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFPA man walks through Almudena Cemetery, Madrid, Spain. Photograph: Dominique Faget/GettyIan Alexander2014-04-29T12:59:02ZLetter from Cyprus: across the dividehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/22/letter-from-cyprus-across-the-divide
Two elderly residents reminisce about the villages they had to leave when the island split into Turkish and Greek enclaves<p>Christina shouted to the man who was approaching: "Hello, Mr Mustafa! Come, sit with us, have a coffee." Mustafa was in his late 70s, on the short side, with a round belly, a&nbsp;thin moustache and white hair.</p><p>Christina, my 72-year-old friend, and I had arrived in Bellapais village that morning. She wanted to show me her old house, her old school, the fields where she used to play as a young girl, and, above all, what she called "the palace": the <a href="http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/city/kyrenia/bellapais/abbey.htm" title="">13th-century abbey</a>, built on a cliff overlooking the northern coast of Cyprus to house the Catholic monks of the Premonstratensian order, who had arrived with the island's Frankish rulers in the 12th century.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/22/letter-from-cyprus-across-the-divide">Continue reading...</a>CyprusEuropeWorld newsTue, 22 Apr 2014 13:00:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/22/letter-from-cyprus-across-the-dividePhotograph: AlamyArches of Bellapais Abbey, built in the 13th century. Photograph: AlamyPhotograph: AlamyArches of Bellapais Abbey, built in the 13th century. Photograph: AlamyNicoletta Demetriou2014-04-22T13:00:26ZLetter from the Netherlands: bright bulbshttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/21/letter-from-netherlands-lisse-keukenhof-tulips
The colours and scents of the Dutch tulips transform both tourists and cynical locals alike<p>With standing room only, the bus sped down the freeway on a bright warm morning. Once we turned on to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollenstreek" title=""><em>Bollenstreek</em></a>, long ribbons of intense blue, mauve and white stretched to the near horizon. Fields of yellow daffodils blared spring's final triumph over the particularly long winter. Every head on the bus turned and gazed. And then suddenly, quite spontaneously, everyone sighed together, "Aaahhhhhhhh." A breath song of collective awe.</p><p>We were headed to <a href="http://http://www.keukenhof.nl" title="">Keukenhof Gardens</a>, famous for its variety of bulb flowers, especially tulips. I was feeling triumphant because I had two Dutch people in tow. My husband had finally run out of excuses and decided to appease his American wife. Along with us was a friend who, despite having lived near the gardens for the past 35 years, had never visited them.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/21/letter-from-netherlands-lisse-keukenhof-tulips">Continue reading...</a>NetherlandsEuropeWild flowersGardensEnvironmentTue, 21 May 2013 12:59:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/21/letter-from-netherlands-lisse-keukenhof-tulipsPhotograph: AFP/Koen Suyk/AFPKeukenhof, the world's largest flower garden, situated near Lisse, in The Netherlands. Photograph: Koen Suyk/AFPPhotograph: AFP/Koen Suyk/AFPKeukenhof, the world's largest flower garden, situated near Lisse, in The Netherlands. Photograph: Koen Suyk/AFPCatherine Ann Lombard2013-05-21T12:59:01ZLetter from Italy: stuck between hard rock and a quiet placehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/07/letter-italy-cafe-rock-talk
Instead of pleasant conversation, cafe-loving Italians have grown accustomed to a musical assault<p>A couple of Sundays ago I had to take my son to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saronno" title="">Saronno</a> from Mantova for an all-day engagement. A Sunday all to myself in Saronno: the thought pleased me.</p><p>I checked the weather prospects: nonstop rain. Then I checked if there were any exhibitions on: nothing.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/07/letter-italy-cafe-rock-talk">Continue reading...</a>ItalyEuropeWorld newsTue, 07 May 2013 10:57:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/07/letter-italy-cafe-rock-talkPhotograph: roughguidespictures.com/AlamyNegative feedback ... some cafe owners think background music discourages eavesdroppers. Photograph: roughguidespictures.com/AlamyPhotograph: roughguidespictures.com/AlamyNegative feedback ... some cafe owners think background music discourages eavesdroppers. Photograph: roughguidespictures.com/AlamyJoe Quinn2013-05-07T10:57:53ZLetter from Hungary: grey areahttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/26/letter-from-hungary-communism-jobbik
The gloomy days of communism have been left behind, but the 'new democracy' isn't all sweetness and light<p>When I say "communism", what colour do you think of?" One of our Hungarian guides challenged her audience of mainly young backpackers from across the globe for an answer.</p><p>"Red," someone called out.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/26/letter-from-hungary-communism-jobbik">Continue reading...</a>HungaryEuropeTue, 26 Feb 2013 13:59:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/26/letter-from-hungary-communism-jobbikPhotograph: Karoly Arvai/REUTERSMembers of Jobbik, a Hungarian far-right party. Photograph: Karoly Arvai/ReutersPhotograph: Karoly Arvai/REUTERSMembers of Jobbik, a Hungarian far-right party. Photograph: Karoly Arvai/ReutersTerry Hewton2013-02-26T13:59:02ZLetter from Lithuania: modern mayhemhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/01/letter-from-lithuania-post-office
Some 20-odd years after independence, the grand main post office in the centre of Kaunas has finally come of age<p>What was once a fantastic hotchpotch of miscellaneous mischief from cupboards, attics and cellars around Lithuania and beyond is now no more. Some 20-odd years after independence, the grand main post office in the centre of <a href="http://www.kaunas.lt/index.php?2928940587" title="">Kaunas</a> has finally come of age.</p><p>The generic approach to queue management in large public institutions has now become firmly embedded; you tap in on an electronic screen the service you require, it will spurt out a ticket with a counter number, and you sit and wait. Seats have been added to the open space to provide extra value to the new routine.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/01/letter-from-lithuania-post-office">Continue reading...</a>LithuaniaEuropeWorld newsTue, 01 Jan 2013 13:59:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/01/letter-from-lithuania-post-officePhotograph: AlamyPeter and Paul's cathedral in Kaunas, Lithuania's second-largest city. Photograph: AlamyPhotograph: AlamyPeter and Paul's cathedral in Kaunas, Lithuania's second-largest city. Photograph: AlamyJames McGeever2013-01-01T13:59:01ZLetter from Ukraine: cafe culturehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/06/letter-from-lviv-ukraine-cafes
The city of Lviv celebrates its diverse past through a range of themed cafes, from secret hideouts to masochism<p>With its cobblestone streets and 18th-century architecture, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lviv" title="">Lviv</a> is a living museum of imperial Europe. A rare display of the Austro-Hungarian legacy in western Ukraine, it is a place where rickety tramcars clack along winding rails, church bells jingle in the air, and pigeons flutter from one faded monument to another.</p><p>Far from the capital of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev" title="">Kyiv</a>, or any other major regional centre, Lviv possesses an atmosphere of utter provinciality and slowness.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/06/letter-from-lviv-ukraine-cafes">Continue reading...</a>UkraineEuropeWorld newsTue, 06 Nov 2012 14:01:39 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/06/letter-from-lviv-ukraine-cafesPhotograph: Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP/GettyHands up for service ... a waiter serves customers in Kryïvka (clandestine shelter). The themed cafe in Lviv celebrates second world war Ukrainian partisans. Photograph: Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP/GettyPhotograph: Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP/GettyHands up for service ... a waiter serves customers in Kryïvka (clandestine shelter). The themed cafe in Lviv celebrates second world war Ukrainian partisans. Photograph: Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP/GettyDan Peleschuk2012-11-06T14:01:39ZLetter from Azerbaijan: off the maphttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/28/letter-from-stepanakert-azerbaijan
The leafy boulevards of Stepanakert, in Nagorno-Karabakh, are beginning to attract visitors, but to most of the international community the republic doesn't exist<p>In many ways, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepanakert" title="">Stepanakert</a> resembles a small American town on the rise. Its main boulevards have been repaved, locals stroll through the renovated central square past its elegant fountain, and hotels have sprouted on every other block to hold the new influx of visitors.</p><p>But as some people see things, it doesn't really exist, and neither does the ethnic Armenian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh" title="">Nagorno-Karabakh Republic</a>, of which Stepanakert is the capital. According to the rest of the world, the region belongs to Azerbaijan, and no one –&nbsp;not even Armenia, Karabakh's patron state –&nbsp;recognises it.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/28/letter-from-stepanakert-azerbaijan">Continue reading...</a>AzerbaijanWorld newsArmeniaEuropeTue, 28 Aug 2012 13:03:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/28/letter-from-stepanakert-azerbaijanPhotograph: Karen Minasyan/AFP/GettyBreakaway ... a boy joins in as Stepanakert residents celebrate after a 2006 referendum overwhelmingly approved a constitution declaring Nagorno-Karabakh an independent state. Photograph: Karen Minasyan/AFP/GettyPhotograph: Karen Minasyan/AFP/GettyBreakaway ... a boy joins in as Stepanakert residents celebrate after a 2006 referendum overwhelmingly approved a constitution declaring Nagorno-Karabakh an independent state. Photograph: Karen Minasyan/AFP/GettyDan Peleschuk2012-08-28T13:03:00ZLetter from France: big footprints in the mudhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/06/letter-from-france-dinosaur-footprints
A winter walk back to Jurassic times<p>The fields were waterlogged and the village street of Pillemoine in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franche-Comt%C3%A9" title="">Franche Comté</a> was transformed into a stream. Today the rain has stopped. I should be out attacking the mountain of snow that avalanched off my huge roof, but I'm being Nero and watching an outstanding download of Planet Dinosaur.</p><p>However, today Planet Dinosaur doesn't hit the spot. The sun is coming through more strongly and suddenly I need my real dinosaur friends. Into a pair of boots and out through a silent village. I climb the steep bank behind the village, cross a field and into the woods. Here it is another world, a Jurassic world, completely silent apart from the crackle of twigs beneath my feet and the odd thud of snow melt.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/06/letter-from-france-dinosaur-footprints">Continue reading...</a>FranceEuropeWorld newsDinosaursFossilsScienceTue, 06 Mar 2012 14:01:24 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/06/letter-from-france-dinosaur-footprintsPhotograph: AFPA dinosaur footprint in the Cuenca province, 150km in the east of Madrid. Photograph: AFPPhotograph: AFPA dinosaur footprint in the Cuenca province, 150km in the east of Madrid. Photograph: AFPAlison Monks-Plackett2012-03-06T14:01:24ZGreece: Migration brings exotic visitors together at a tavernahttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/08/letter-from-greece-birdwatching-groppi
The tiny island of Antikythera, north-west of Crete, is a crossroads for birds and humans alike<p>Giovanni was very kind: he approached us in the corner of the taverna, catching my questioning glance at that strange group of young people sitting at the table in front of us.</p><p>Some of them were Greeks, but others clearly weren't. "We are ornithologists, from different countries," Giovanni said quietly. "If you like, you can join us tomorrow morning where we ring the birds, in the fields over there."</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/08/letter-from-greece-birdwatching-groppi">Continue reading...</a>GreeceGreece holidaysEuropeTue, 08 Feb 2011 14:00:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/08/letter-from-greece-birdwatching-groppiPhotograph: PRTaverna tales ... a place to meet with a view to match, such as this one from the Milia Mountain Retreat in Crete.Photograph: PRTaverna tales ... a place to meet with a view to match, such as this one from the Milia Mountain Retreat in Crete.Marco Groppi2011-02-08T14:00:26ZSpain: Ice-cold tales of Granada's 'snowmen'https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/28/spain-granada-snow-ice-men
The Sierra Nevada was once the source of the city's ice, provided by a hardy team of men<p>The snow that falls on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_(Spain)" title="">Sierra Nevada</a> each year is vital for the economy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granada" title="">Granada</a>, bringing skiers in their thousands and providing a substantial winter income for hotels, restaurants and shops as well as the ski station itself. If not enough snow falls, machines that can manufacture artificial snow are brought in to ensure business as usual.</p><p>When it melts, snow feeds the rivers and fills the irrigation channels built by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors" title="">Moors</a> to water the land. But for centuries, snow from the mountains played another essential role: keeping the city cool in summer. Before the days of refrigeration, teams of men would set out to climb the peaks of the Sierra Nevada to provide the city with ice.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/28/spain-granada-snow-ice-men">Continue reading...</a>SpainEuropeTue, 28 Dec 2010 14:09:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/28/spain-granada-snow-ice-menPhotograph: Esteban Cobo/EPATraditions remain when it snows in Spain. Photograph: Esteban Cobo/EPAPhotograph: Esteban Cobo/EPATraditions remain when it snows in Spain. Photograph: Esteban Cobo/EPABarbara Lamplugh2010-12-28T14:09:01ZUkraine: Crimean moves put into perspectivehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/19/letter-from-ukraine-crimea-romanov
Journey to Ukraine enlightens on cold war and dying days of the Romanovs<p>I was about nine when I first read <a href="http://poetry.eserver.org/light-brigade.html" title="">The Charge of the Light Brigade</a>. I remember exploring my grandfather's bookcase on a wet day. <a href="http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=1569" title="">Alfred Lord Tennyson</a> was an interesting name, and I settled into an armchair beside the fire to browse.</p><p>The hoof-thumping story of the "Noble six hundred" caught my imagination. Later I found out about <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nightingale_florence.shtml" title="">Florence Nightingale</a> and how <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaclava_%28clothing%29" title="">balaclava helmets</a> got their name. So when Mary and I took a Crimean holiday, the war of the same name was high on our list.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/19/letter-from-ukraine-crimea-romanov">Continue reading...</a>UkraineEuropeTue, 19 Oct 2010 13:01:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/19/letter-from-ukraine-crimea-romanovPhotograph: Artur Shvarts/EPAInspecting the fleet ... Russian soldiers in Sevastopol. Photograph: Artur Shvarts/EPAPhotograph: Artur Shvarts/EPAInspecting the fleet ... Russian soldiers in Sevastopol. Photograph: Artur Shvarts/EPAJohn Standingford2010-10-19T13:01:02ZTurkey: an ancient faith rebuilds its roots in Tur Abdin, the 'mountains of the worshippers'https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/24/letter-from-turkey-kurds
Christian Syriacs who were expelled after a crackdown on the Kurds have returned from Europe to resettle their hilltop village<p>From a few miles out they looked like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopotamia" title="">Mesopotamia's </a>first skyscrapers, a cluster of silhouettes towering over blood-red farmland. It was only when the cassock-clad monk steered us up the final incline that I realised what they were: gleaming three-storey villas that wouldn't have been out of place on the Costa Brava.</p><p>This was <a href="http://www.kafro.eu/" title="">Kafro</a>, an ancient village in Turkey's troubled and poverty-stricken south-east. Nearly two millennia ago this rugged region was largely Christian and known as <a href="http://www.kafro.eu/" title="">Tur Abdin</a>, the "mountains of the worshippers". A small Christian presence remained until the early 1990s, when the Turkish army cleared more than 3,000 villages to rob Kurdish rebels of cover. Expelled alongside the Kurds were Syriacs – also called Aramaeans – a Semitic minority speaking Aramaic and following a branch of eastern Christianity.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/24/letter-from-turkey-kurds">Continue reading...</a>TurkeyKurdsEuropeTue, 24 Aug 2010 13:00:20 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/24/letter-from-turkey-kurdsPhotograph: TARIK TINAZAY/AFP/GettyUnholy dissent ... the Mor Gabriel monastery is the subject of legal wrangling. Photograph: Tarik Tinazay/AFP/GettyPhotograph: TARIK TINAZAY/AFP/GettyUnholy dissent ... the Mor Gabriel monastery is the subject of legal wrangling. Photograph: Tarik Tinazay/AFP/GettyMichael Gunn2010-08-24T13:00:20ZSpain: Religion, costumes and conquests - all a town needs to partyhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/06/letter-from-spain-moors-christians
The annual Moors and Christian festival gives the residents of Moraira a chance to revel in their Islamic ancestry<p>A small army of "Moors", made up of shopkeepers, bar owners, bakers and schoolchildren of Moraira, conquered the town's castle, a small fort no bigger than a cottage, last month. The next day it was liberated by their "Christian" counterparts in a gripping battle on the beach. So began Moraira's Moors and Christians festival, a copy (and one of many in Spain) of a celebration that began in the 16th century in the town of Alcoy to commemorate a landmark battle in 1276.</p><p>Moors conquered everywhere but the very north of Spain in the eighth century. Over the following centuries the Christians retook the country in the Christian Reconquista until, by the 1500s, most Muslims had either converted or been expelled.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/06/letter-from-spain-moors-christians">Continue reading...</a>World newsSpainSpain holidaysReligionEuropeTue, 06 Jul 2010 13:01:11 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/06/letter-from-spain-moors-christiansPhotograph: Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty ImagesPeople dressed as Moors perform on a boat off the coast of Villajoyosa during the Moors and Christians festivities. Photograph: Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty ImagesPeople dressed as Moors perform on a boat off the coast of Villajoyosa during the Moors and Christians festivities. Photograph: Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty ImagesAndromeda Agnew2010-07-06T13:01:11ZSwedish Crown Princess Victoria's wedding reigns on Stockholm paradehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/22/sweden-stockholm-royal-wedding-victoria
The wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is cause for celebration, unless you happen to live in Stockholm<p>Our neighbours' oldest daughter got married (at last) this month. As she is Crown Princess Victoria, that caused some disturbance. Sweden is trying to recoup the $2.5m outlay for an enthusiastic two-week Love 2010 Stockholm festival, of which the wedding was the culmination.</p><p>It was in Gamla Stan, the oldest part of Stockholm, with medieval houses inhabited by eccentrics and narrow lanes thronged by tourists. Its shopkeepers have adapted. A toy shop has mice dressed as a bridal party, another shop has a stork and baby emphasising the pressure on the couple. There are generous incentives for having babies in Sweden and midsummer is when people start the holidays, leading to a bump in the birth statistics next spring.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/22/sweden-stockholm-royal-wedding-victoria">Continue reading...</a>SwedenEuropeTue, 22 Jun 2010 14:21:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/22/sweden-stockholm-royal-wedding-victoriaPhotograph: Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty ImagesPostcard of Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and her fiance, Daniel Westling. Photograph: Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty ImagesPostcard of Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and her fiance, Daniel Westling. Photograph: Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty ImagesAngus Nicoll2010-06-22T14:21:00ZArmenia: the proper way to pay your respectshttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/16/armenia-armenia
Guardian Weekly reader Jack Aslanian details the elaborate and expensive funeral tradition in Armenia, where an average funeral wreath can cost $100 – the monthly income of a teacher<p>In wide angle, the colours of winter Yerevan are made up of shades of grey, punctuated by black cars and people's clothes. Close up, however, one is struck by extravagant fashion. Yerevan is aflutter with the embodiments of pages from fashion magazines. Here glamour seems to be a matter of personal dignity, as too are expensive funerals.</p><p>An average funeral wreath can set back a sympathiser around $100 – the monthly income of a teacher. For the bereaved family too, a funeral is costly, and long. For a start, three memorial meals must be held in the first week after the death.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/16/armenia-armenia">Continue reading...</a>ArmeniaArmenia holidaysEuropeTue, 16 Mar 2010 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/16/armenia-armeniaPhotograph: Staff/REUTERSPeople gather at a ceremony marking the anniversary of mass killings of Armenians in 1915. Photograph: ReutersPhotograph: Staff/REUTERSPeople gather at a ceremony marking the anniversary of mass killings of Armenians in 1915. Photograph: ReutersJack Aslanian2010-03-16T09:00:00ZUkraine: dreams of hope for Kiev's missing baristahttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/02/ukraine-ukraine
Guardian Weekly reader John Standingford marvels at the micro-economy on the streets of Kiev and mourns the disappearance of one young drinks seller. Could it be swine flu?<p>He wasn't there again today. I don't know his name, have never spoken to him and probably wouldn't recognise him out of context. But I miss him. Every weekday morning I walk the eight minutes from my home in central Kiev to my office next to the Opera House. The first thing I see is a crowd of people outside the Polish and Czech embassies, there to get visas. Most want to work or do business in the EU. Ukraine's economy has been badly hit.</p><p>The crowd has spawned a micro-economy on the footpath. Travel insurance is the biggest sector. Some of the agents stand at collapsible desks, like chaplains at field altars, filling in forms for their customers. Others, all women, just stand around holding placards bearing the word Insurance. They chat to the women holding placards that offer passport photographs.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/02/ukraine-ukraine">Continue reading...</a>Ukraine holidaysUkraineEuropeWed, 02 Dec 2009 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/02/ukraine-ukraineJohn Standingford2009-12-02T09:00:00ZGermany: a quest for holy water ends wellhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/17/germany-germany
Guardian Weekly reader Kevin O'Byrne visits Duisburg, known as The City of a Thousand Fires due to its proliferation of steel companies, and sets out to find a holy well in the surrounding forest<p>The Berliner Brücke, which spans the river Ruhr and the Rhein-Herne canal on the autobahn 59, offers a good view of the city. Here you can appreciate the extent of industrial activity still taking place in Duisburg. Looking west towards the Rhine you can see the harbour with a forest of swivelling cranes. North towards Hamborn there are a frightening number of stacks and cooling towers, most of them still active. And just to the right of these is the dome of the new mosque, the biggest in Germany.</p><p>All the big names in steel are still here: Krupp, Mannesmann, Thyssen and Haniel. More steel is produced here than in almost any other city in the world. This has earned Duisburg its sobriquet The City of a Thousand Fires. Off the motorway, the city is a conglomeration of mainly dormitory suburbs consisting of rather dull streets.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/17/germany-germany">Continue reading...</a>Germany holidaysGermanyEuropeTue, 17 Nov 2009 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/17/germany-germanyPhotograph: APA steel worker. Photograph: APPhotograph: APA steel worker. Photograph: APKevin O'Byrne2009-11-17T09:00:00Z